The present invention is directed to plush toys that can be detachably mounted on a shoe.
Children enjoy novelty items and accessories that they can wear, particularly plush items that resemble cute animals or popular characters. One place where children like to display such items is on their body.
One such plush item is designed to be mounted on a sneaker or other shoe having a shoelace. The plush item has an animal-shaped body with a head and a tail and two small elastic loops attached to the center of the underside of the body in a longitudinal relationship, i.e., with one loop closer to the head and the other loop closer to the tail. The loops are just large enough to fit a shoelace through. However, for a child to put such a toy onto her shoe, she must unlace the entire shoelace and then relace the shoe, putting the shoelace through the elastic loops. The plush item must be mounted and the shoelace relaced so that the elastic loop nearer the head is mounted on a section of shoelace near the front of the shoe and the elastic loop nearer the tail is mounted on a section of shoelace farther back. Such a design has drawbacks because it is extremely difficult for young children to mount the plush item and relace the shoe to obtain the proper placement of the plush item. Another drawback occurs when a young child repeatedly insists that an adult remove the plush item and replace it with a different item on the shoelace, because the adult must repeatedly unlace and relace the shoe. Another drawback to this design is that the plush item does not fasten securely onto the shoe and bounces all over the shoe when the user is walking.
Accordingly, a need exists for a more practical and less time-consuming approach to mounting plush items on shoes that addresses these drawbacks.
The present invention is directed to plush toys that can be detachably mounted on shoes without having to unlace a shoelace. Additionally, the plush toys of the invention can be stably mounted on the shoes.
In one embodiment, the invention is directed to a plush toy capable of being detachably mounted on a shoe having a shoelace. The plush toy comprises a body having top and bottom sides and front and back ends. The body further comprises at least one means for detachably mounting the body on the shoe without unlacing the shoelace. The means for detachably mounting the body on the shoe without unlacing the shoelace may also be a means for detachably mounting the body on the shoe without untiing the shoelace. Examples of means for detachably mounting the body on the shoe without unlacing the shoelace include, but are not limited to, at least one hole extending through the body, a button attached to the bottom side of the body, a clip attached to the bottom side of the body, a strap attached to the bottom side of the body the strap having at least one free end, a pair of slots provided on the bottom side of the body, wherein the slots are both provided the same distance from the front end of the body, and at least one hook mounted on the bottom side of the body. Other such means are described through the detailed description.
In another embodiment, the invention is directed to a plush toy capable of being detachably mounted on a shoe. The plush toy comprises a body having top and bottom sides, front and back ends and a length ranging from about 0.5 inch to about 8 inches. The body has at least one hole extending therethrough, and preferably two holes extending therethrough. Preferably the holes extend through the body from the top side of the body to the bottom side of the body and are approximately the same distance from the front end of the body.
In still another embodiment, the invention is directed to a method for mounting a plush toy on a shoe having a shoelace without unlacing the shoelace. The method comprises providing a shoe having a shoelace with two free ends and providing a plush toy comprising a body having top and bottom sides and front and back ends. The body has at least one hole extending therethrough. The free ends of the shoelace are inserted through the at least one hole and are tied together.
In yet another embodiment, the invention is directed to a method for mounting a plush toy on a shoe having a strap. The method comprises providing a plush toy comprising a body having top and bottoms sides and a slot on the bottom side of the body and inserting the strap of the shoe through the slot.
In still yet another embodiment, the invention is directed to a display device for a plush toy comprising a body having top and bottom sides front and back ends and at least one hole extending therethrough. The display device comprises a generally flat display structure having a front side, a back side and two shoelace holes, a hanging means for hanging the display structure, and a shoelace having two ends. Each end of the shoelace is inserted through a different corresponding shoelace hole. The plush toy is then mounted on the front side of the display device by inserting the ends of the shoelace through the at least one hole extending through the body of the plush toy and attaching the ends of the shoelace together.